Mumbai Metro may go underground, link to Thane

At yesterday’s ceremony, CM Chavan and Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu indicated that the Metro line II would be completely underground and extend to Dahisar, and a ring route could connect the city to Thane

If all goes according to plan, the city will get a complete underground Metro ring route which will connect the present and planned Metro corridors in Mumbai with neighbouring Thane.

Representational pic

At the bhoomi pujan for the Metro III corridor on Tuesday, CM Prithviraj Chavan made it clear that the Charkop-Bandra-Mankhurd Metro line II, which has been a non-starter for many years, will be extended up to Dahisar and would be completely underground.

“The reason why line II has remained a non-starter is because we have not yet received clearance from the MoEF for the construction of car depots. A new detailed project report was commissioned for line II, which states that it can be constructed underground and can be extended up to Dahisar,” Chavan said. “The projects have been planned in such a manner that they are integrated with the present modes of transport, including local train stations.

The main reason behind planning Metro line III was that we wanted to connected the three business districts in the city Nariman Point, BKC and Seepz-MIDC. I would also like to request the urban development ministry to clear the pending projects proposals, like those of the Shivaji Statue and the coastal road,” the CM added.

Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu, who was present for the ceremony, said that Mumbai should have a Metro ring route that will connect Mumbai with Thane. “I feel that Mumbai needs a Metro ring route that will help in better connectivity and, so, a project plan should be prepared taking the possibility of connecting the Metro lines in Mumbai with Thane.”

This was seen as an indication that the Dahisar-Bandra- Mankurd Metro line II could be connected with the Wadala-Kasarvadavali (Thane) Metro line IV. “We will see to it that we provide the state government the best of cooperation from the Central government,” said Naidu.

Pune, too?The CM also asked Naidu to get the union government to clear the proposal for the Pune Metro project. The union minister replied that a decision in this regard would be taken soon, and that the Centre would cooperate with the state government in all possible ways for infrastructure development in the state.